


That Time With The Axe

by AliceMayWrite



Category: Parks and Recreation
Genre: Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Claustrophobia, Concussions, F/M, Female Friendship, Hospitals, Male-Female Friendship, Panic Attacks, Vomiting, ben and leslie are cute as hell, leslie loves ann, ron and leslie are best friends
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-30
Updated: 2020-07-09
Packaged: 2021-03-04 18:54:08
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 5
Words: 14,449
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25001218
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AliceMayWrite/pseuds/AliceMayWrite
Summary: Tammy 2 kidnapped Leslie. What happened there, and what happened afterwards?
Relationships: Leslie Knope & Ann Perkins, Leslie Knope & Ron Swanson, Leslie Knope/Ben Wyatt
Comments: 32
Kudos: 28





	1. The Incident

**Author's Note:**

> TW- panic attacks, claustrophobia, mild violence, blood.
> 
> I hope you guys like this one!!

Tammy sprung up out of nowhere, making Leslie genuinely scream in terror.  
“Jesus Christ!” Leslie yelled as she sprung backwards. “Do you have an axe? Are you kidding?!”  
“You can bet your ass I’m not kidding!” Tammy yelled back, her voice straining.  
Leslie scrambled behind one of the antique chairs, wincing as she heard Tammy bring the axe down and smash the chair into pieces.  
“You’re disrespecting the chairs!” Leslie said with a yelp, springing away.  
“I’ll disrespect you next! And then Diane, and then Ron!”  
“You’re insane!”

Leslie held her hands up in defeat.  
“Tammy- you need to stop this. If you cut me up into pieces, I can guarantee you that Ron will destroy you and everything you love.”  
“Well then we’ll have to make sure he doesn’t find you!”  
Leslie took her chance to run forwards and grab the other end of the axe, managing to wrench it out of Tammy’s hands, screaming all the while. While they were wrestling, Tammy brought her arm up and used the side of the wooden axe handle to catch Leslie in the head, hard, and everything immediately went black.

***

When Leslie woke up, she was in total darkness. At first, she worried that she’d gone blind, but then she felt herself moving from side to side. And then she heard a motor, and realised that she was in the boot of a car.  
“Holy f-” she started, but then the car swerved to the right and she bumped into the side of the boot, effectively shutting her up.  
Leslie’s breathing increased. She wasn’t a claustrophobic person, but now she was feeling incredibly hopeless and trapped right now. Ron and Diane had no idea where she was… in fact, she herself had no idea where she was. She could have been out for hours, and they were in Canada by now.

It was a well-known fact that Ron hated Canada- there was no way he would come and get her from there.  
“TAMMY!” Leslie roared, but there was no answer.  
If Tammy could hear her, she was being distinctly ignored. Leslie wanted to be sick now- it almost felt like she couldn’t breathe.  
It was then that she realised that her head was throbbing painfully.  
“My god,” Leslie groaned to herself. “I don’t think this was worth it. Not at all.”  
It was then that the car jerked suddenly, and she was thrown yet again.

***

Ron got a call from Ben Wyatt at just gone seven in the morning. It woke him up, and he grumpily answered the phone, eager to tell Ben that he was going to be punished for waking him at this early hour.

“What is it, Wyatt?”  
“Have you seen Leslie?”  
Ben’s worried voice made Ron frown. He checked the clock, which was on the same side of the bed as the still sleeping Diane. Ron stood and exited the bedroom so he could speak louder.  
“I haven’t,” Ron replied. “I’ve been home for a long time now. Leslie was distracting Tammy 2 for me.”  
“Goddammit,” Ben muttered. “I just woke up and was hoping she’d be back by now, but she isn’t. I’m worried, Ron.”  
Ron’s stomach jolted. That certainly wasn’t good news- not at all.  
“I’ll investigate. You stay at the house in case she comes back.”  
“Roger that.”

Once Ben had hung up, Ron went back into his bedroom to get dressed. Diane was sitting up sleepily.  
“What is it, Ron?” she asked him, and Ron sighed.  
“I think Tammy may have done something to Leslie. She didn’t come home.”  
Diane frowned, before jumping out of bed.  
“We have to help her, we- Ron, look. Your phone’s ringing.”  
Ron answered immediately.  
“Who are you?”  
“This is the police, sir- I think we’ve found your car.”  
Ron and Diane shared a look.

***

Ron wasn’t surprised to see Tammy cuffed at the side of the road. He was more concerned when he couldn’t see any sign of Leslie, and the alluring look Tammy was giving him made him believe she was about to make him very, very angry.  
“Was there any sign of a passenger?” Ron asked the officer, tearing his eyes away from Tammy’s grin. Diane had rounded on her now and would hopefully keep her quiet.  
Before anybody else could speak, there was a banging that resounded from the inside of the boot.

Ron glanced at the officer, before hearing a “Hey! Ron!”  
Ron let out the breath he had been holding. “There we go.”  
The officer popped the boot, and Leslie squinted up at him, raking in some breaths of air. She had tear-stained cheeks, and her head had dried blood on it, presumably from a wound Tammy inflicted.  
“Help?” Leslie asked as she looked up at Ron, who sighed in relief.

***

Leslie was made to sit up, perched on the edge of the boot. Somebody shone a light into her eyes, before turning to Ron and telling him that she was concussed from the head injury.  
“I did that,” Tammy cut in as she was being made to stand. “With an axe- Ron- are you paying me any attention?”  
“Pipe down,” Diane said with a snarl, and Tammy shut up. She was then immediately led away, and Ron gave Diane a grateful smile.  
“I wish I could have done that,” Leslie said with a groan. “Diane you’re an incredible woman.”  
“Are you okay?” Ron asked her. “I didn’t realise you’d been entertaining that she-devil all night, or I would have come to relieve you.”  
“It’s fine, it’s fine…” Leslie said, clutching her head. “Besides, I now know that I can fit in a boot- that’s fun…”

Ron silently squeezed her shoulder, before feeling a vibration in his pocket. He pulled out his phone to see the caller ID- it was Ben.  
“Mr Wyatt,” Ron said to Leslie, before answering the call. Leslie listened to Ron’s side of the conversation- he opened with a “we found her in the boot of Tammy’s car” and then overheard some shouting down the other end. Ron nodded and said “yes” a few more times, before hanging up abruptly. Ron turned to Diane.

“He’s going to meet us at the hospital.”  
“Sounds good.”  
Leslie perked up. “Hospital? No, Ron, I’m fine- see?”  
Ron knew she would try to prove she was fine so before she moved, he put his hand firmly on her shoulder, keeping her in place.  
“You’re concussed. We need to make sure you’re alright. Besides, your head was bleeding- best to get that looked at by a professional, since I don’t have my medical supplies here.”  
Leslie groaned again. “Fine.”

She moved to stand up, but immediately felt like she was going to puke.  
“What is-” Ron started as she put a hand to her mouth, but then she was pushing past him to move over to the side of the car and throw up.  
“Okay-” she muttered after she had finished, and Ron was helping her into the car. “Fair enough.”  
Ron just grunted in response, before fastening her in and moving over to the driver’s seat. Leslie heard Diane get into the back, and then they were on the move.

The drive there was uneventful, but Leslie couldn’t stop thinking about the fact that, had Tammy not been driving recklessly, she might be getting chopped up in a basement somewhere. She shuddered, and Ron glanced over.  
“Are you going to be sick again? If so, please roll down the window.”  
Leslie rolled her eyes. “No, I just can’t believe she kidnapped me.”  
It had been dark in the boot. And hard to breathe.  
Leslie pushed down the rising feeling of panic and squeezed her eyes shut, but that reminded her of being in the dark boot, so instead she tried to focus on staring out the window.

***

“We’re here.”  
Leslie jumped. She had zoned out, and it felt like they had magically teleported to their location. She had even missed the car stopping, and Ron opening the passenger side door.  
“Great.”  
“Do you need help?” he asked her warily. Diane came up behind him.  
“I’ll go get a wheelchair if you want from inside?” Ron nodded.  
“Good idea.”

Once Diane was gone and it was just Leslie and Ron, Ron squeezed her shoulder again.  
“Are you okay?”  
Leslie grimaced. “I'll live.”   
Ron let out a breath. “Thank you.”  
“What for?” Leslie asked him, confused.  
“For helping me. I don't know many people who would do that. And I’m sorry about what happened. You’re… a good friend.”  
“ _Ron!_ ” Leslie yelled, making Ron wince. “Am I concussed, or did you just call me your friend?!”  
“You are concussed. And yes, I did just call you my friend.” Then he leaned in. “But if you tell anybody else that I said that, you’re fired.”

Before either of them could say anything else, Diane was returning with a wheelchair, flanked by Ben, who looked flustered.  
“Babe!” he exclaimed once he reached them, immediately helping Ron to get her into he wheelchair. “Are you okay?”  
“Ron called me his friend,” Leslie said, a little giddily. Ben looked at Ron, confused.  
“She’s concussed,” Ron replied instantly, a frown on his face. “She’s clearly concussed. I didn't say that.”  
Ben just tilted his head at the two of them, bemused.

Diane told them she would wait in the car, and the two men took Leslie into the hospital. It wasn’t long until they were seen by a nurse, who happened to be…  
“Ann, you delectable luminous angel!”  
“Leslie! Sweetie!” Ann gasped. “What happened?”  
Ann was quickly filled in by Ron, while Ben helped Leslie get comfortable on the bed.   
“God,” Ann growled. “It’s a good job I’m on shift right now, or Tammy would be in for a world of pain!”  
“I struggled to restrain myself,” Ron said in his token deadpan voice. “It took a lot of restraint not to rip her head off where she stood.”  
“I wish I’d been there,” Ben muttered darkly. “No restraint needed.”

“Aww, you guys,” Leslie slurred. “I love you all so much!”  
“Is she okay?” Ben asked nervously, his previous anger gone as he fussed over her.  
Ann did a routine check, first putting an ice pack on Leslie’s head to reduce the swelling, and then prescribing her some medication. Leslie was now struggling to stay awake, but Ann said that while it looked scary, it was a common symptom associated with a concussion.

Soon Leslie was getting a big hug from Ann, who told Ben and Ron to keep her updated.  
“My shift ends at seven, I can be round at yours as soon as, if you want?”  
Ben looked down at Leslie, then back at Ann. “That’d be lovely.”  
As Ron and Ben wheeled Leslie back to the car, Ben asked Ron to clarify some of the details.  
“I can’t believe she had an axe,” Ben said with a shudder. “To think-”  
“It’d be best not to finish that sentence, son,” Ron replied quickly.

***

Leslie was quiet on the way home, and Ben was worried she would fall asleep. Ann had said that she could sleep once her other symptoms had disappeared, and since she was still zoning out and slurring her words, Ben wanted to make sure she was okay.  
He squeezed her hand, and she smiled at him, but he could tell she was having trouble focusing.  
He was surprised when Ron let Diane out at her house, giving her a kiss. Diane thanked both Ben and Leslie, before disappearing into the house. Once she was gone, Ben turned to look at Ron, who hadn’t said anything.

“I thought it best if I stayed and helped for a while,” Ron muttered, and Ben nodded in understanding.  
“That’s great, Ron, thank you.”  
“It’s my fault this happened anyway,” Ron added bitterly, but before Ben could retaliate, Leslie was leaning forwards and yelling.  
“Don’t say that Ron! You shouldn’t feel guilty for her being a total c-”  
“ _Either way_ ,” Ron cut in. “I should have checked you were alright last night. If something had happened to you, I would never forgive myself.”

Neither Ben nor Leslie knew what to say to that, so Ron started the car and began to drive. The journey back to their house was quiet, but Ben was too busy checking Leslie was staying awake to dwell on Ron’s comments too much. He felt relieved when he saw that she was starting to pay more attention- the fact she could cut across Ron showed that, and he was even more relieved when she walked into the house without assistance.  
Once they were safely inside, Ben found some pillows and a duvet and put them on the sofa.  
“I think you should rest in here, babe,” Ben said to Leslie as she looked at him in confusion.  
“Ben…” Ben stopped her by kissing her forehead.  
“Please?” Leslie sighed a little, before nodding. Ben frowned- something was wrong.  
“What is it?” he asked her. Leslie looked away.  
“Can you guys stay with me?” she asked in a quiet voice.  
“Of course,” Ron replied instantly, before Ben could. “We’ll stay as long as you need.”

***

Leslie dropped off quickly, and Ben was pleased to see her resting comfortably. He sorted out a scotch for Ron, and the two of them sat in armchairs contently, as Leslie was taking up the sofa.  
“Hey, about what you said before-” Ben started, but Ron held up his hand.  
“My relationship with Tammy is incredibly complicated,” Ron said after a sip of scotch. “Leslie has always been partially involved, but if it weren’t for our close friendship, she would not have been as involved as this.”  
Ben frowned, and Ron hurried to continue.  
“Not that I don’t value my friendship with Leslie more than many other things, but I do believe that my… favoritism towards her is what made Tammy detest her so much. That, coupled with the fact that Leslie would do anything for me.”

“She’s great,” Ben said fondly, glancing towards her sleeping form. “I’m so lucky to be with her.”  
“I don’t tend to like blonde women,” Ron said bluntly. “But I have to admit, she does break the mold.”  
The two lapsed into silence; Ron selected a book from the bookshelf about hunting (which Ben was certain Leslie only bought to occupy him the first time he came to her house) and Ben got his laptop out and tried to do some work.  
No matter how hard he tried, however, he couldn’t stop thinking about how dangerously close they had come to something terrible happening. He hated Tammy with all of his being, and she had better hope they never ran into each other again.

***

Leslie was dreaming that she was running. Running away from Tammy or something else, she wasn’t sure. The dream had begun quite pleasantly- she was eating a waffle the size of a dinner table, and Joe Biden was there, covered in whipped cream. It was a classic Knope fantasy, but it very quickly went downhill in what could only be described as a horror-fueled nightmare.

Before she could escape, she felt hands clawing at her, and then everything went black.  
She was back in the boot, but this time she couldn’t breathe, and no matter how hard she screamed, nobody was there to hear her. She called Ron; she called Ben, but a grating cackle from behind her made her realise that Tammy had killed them, and she was alone. She was going to die in this tiny space, and she couldn’t breathe, and-

_“Babe!”_

Leslie’s eyes shot open. She took a sharp breath. Her head was pounding, and her chest was tight.  
She looked over to see Ron and Ben kneeling by the sofa, both of them concerned.  
She immediately burst into tears, and Ben was quick to wrap her in a hug.  
“Hey, shh,” he soothed. Ron stood and got his scotch, taking a deep swig.  
“I was in the car boot,” Leslie stuttered through the tears. “I couldn’t breathe, it was so dark-”  
“You’re fine now,” Ben promised. He looked down at her, concerned. "Hey, babe, you’re not breathing- take some deep breaths for me, honey.”

Leslie did as instructed, and soon she was breathing normally again.  
Ben stood. “Ron, can you stay with her while I make some waffles?”  
Leslie’s eyes lit up, and she tried to ignore the thought of the nightmare when she had her Ben there to make everything better.  
Ron sat down on the sofa silently, and Ben gave her hand one last squeeze before disappearing into the kitchen.

The two sat in silence for a while. Leslie was focusing on breathing, and Ron was staring into the contents of his glass.  
Finally, he broke the silence. “I’m sorry,” he murmured, not looking at her.  
“Ron. Don’t blame yourself.”  
Ron turned to her, his face as stoic as ever. “That demon did this to you.”  
Leslie flinched, and Ron looked away again.  
“If I ever see her again, I will destroy her.”  
Leslie smiled at him sadly. “You can’t do that, you have Diane and her kids to think of. What would they do if you end up in jail for doing something totally awesome that I slightly approve of?”  
Ron laughed once, and Leslie leaned on his shoulder.

“Things aren’t great,” she said after a while. “My head hurts, and I’m pretty sure I’m claustrophobic now. But I’d do it all again for you.”  
“I wouldn’t want that,” Ron replied immediately, and Leslie laughed.  
“You know what I mean, though. I really would.”  
The two sat in companionable silence for a while, and Leslie didn’t move even when she was eating her waffles, and by the time Ann arrived, hours later, she was sleeping soundly, still leaning on Ron’s shoulder. Both Ben and Ann took the time to laugh at the situation, as it really was hilarious, and Ron’s eyes glowered at them from the sofa. He could quite easily move, but he would be damned if he woke her up. Instead he let them make their jokes, and then the three of them got to talking.

“We need to be extra supportive,” Ann was saying, looking fondly at her best friend. “If she’s having nightmares, this is more than just a physical injury. She might be feeling this for a while.”  
“It sounds like she fought off Satan,” came Ron’s gruff voice. “She’s very lucky to come out this unscathed.”  
He glanced down at her. She was finally peaceful, and Ron was surprised at how much love and hate he could feel at the same time. Love for his best friend and hate for his ex-wife.  
“If this had happened to any of us,” Ben was saying, snapping him out of it. “Leslie would go above and beyond to help us. I’m sure we can do the same.”  
The three friends all exchanged smiles.

Once Leslie woke up, she was ecstatic to see Ann. They stayed and talked for a while, but her head never left Ron’s shoulder. It reminded him of how lucky he was- he had a strong, powerful friend that would truly walk through fire for him, and he was eternally grateful.


	2. The Aftermath

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Leslie wants to go back to normal, but things aren't that easy.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> TW- panic attack, claustrophobia

It had been one week since the incident with Tammy 2, and Leslie had been back at work for two days. She was incredibly grateful to have the endless support of her friends at the Parks Department- Tom had given her one of his satin pillows to use while working at her desk, April had quietly come in and told her that she was always here if she needed to talk. Donna had gotten her a coffee each morning, and Andy had given her a tight hug when she returned from being off. Even Jerry had sorted the paperwork while she was gone, and actually done it to a high standard.  
Not only that, but Ben was popping down every few hours to check in, often with a new restaurant recommendation by Chris. She had never felt more loved before.

Her head injury was healed, but she still found that the non-physical aspect of that whole situation was still present.  
She hated being by herself. The nightmares had persisted each night, or when she napped during the day. Sometimes they had been a quiet affair, and she would wake up and simply snuggle closer to Ben, who would hold her tightly.  
Other times, however, she would wake up in tears, and Ben would have to spend an hour calming her down. She hated feeling this powerless, but Ben insisted that he didn’t mind staying up as long as she needed him to.

Still though, she was desperate to retain some independence, so when Ben lightly suggested at breakfast that morning that he needed to stay late to complete some work, Leslie said that she would too.  
“Are you sure?” Ben asked cautiously. “I don’t mind driving you home then coming back…”  
“Ben!” Leslie said loudly. “Really, I’m fine. Besides, I want things to feel normal again, and the only way that can happen is if we do normal things.”  
“That’s… true…”  
“Please, Ben. I really need this.”

So, it was agreed that the two of them would stay late that night. Leslie had gotten more sleep over the past week than she had in her whole life, despite the constant nightmare disturbances. She was the kind of person who ran on three and a half hours sleep and was good to go, whereas recently, Ben was insisting she slept longer. She loved him, but she needed to feel more like herself again.

***

It hit 4:57, and everybody was making their way to the exit. She overheard Tom and Jerry arguing over buying a doorstop- something totally irrelevant, clearly, and was going to weigh in when April materialized in front of her. She silently handed Leslie a weird purple bag, but when she opened it, there was just black glitter inside.  
“It’s a welcome back present,” April told her in a bored voice.  
“Oh! Erm, thanks!”  
“You’re welcome.” April turned to look off into the middle distance, and Leslie just shrugged.  
All of a sudden, April was hugging her. Leslie hugged her back, squeezing her tightly.  
“Thank you.”

Once everybody filtered out, it was only Ron left in the office. Leslie knocked on the door as he was putting on his coat. Once he pulled his right arm through the sleeve, he motioned for her to enter.  
“You off, Knope?” Ron asked her. Leslie shook her head.  
“No way, I think it’s time for me to do a classic ‘stay late and get some work done’ kind of thing. Ben’s staying late too.”  
Ron narrowed his eyes. “Are you sure you’re ready to do that?”  
Leslie huffed. “Ron! I knew you’d be like that. I appreciate the concern, but I really want to just forget all of that even happened. Please.”  
Silence. The two of them looked at each other- Leslie was pouting, whereas Ron remained as expressionless as ever.

After a second, Ron turned and left the room without another word. Leslie felt a jolt of panic, but decided to bury it down and instead focus on being angry.  
“There was no need for him to do that,” she muttered to herself, returning to her desk and tapping a pile of skewed papers to set them straight.  
That reminded her- she needed to print off a new schedule for her to stick to. She spent all of last night creating it and planned to frame it and put it on her desk. That way, Leslie Knope would know exactly how to maximise her time now she was back in work.

Dammit- no paper. Still, that was an easy fix. Leslie made her way over to the store cupboard in the corner of the room and opened it. The door was heavy and old, so she had to yank it open.  
One thing that was different from when she was last here (a week ago) was that there was no longer a light in the store cupboard. Brushing that off, Leslie stepped inside, keeping one foot between the door. However, the stacks of new paper were higher up than she planned, so she removed her foot to reach out and grab it.

The door swung shut with a bang, plunging her into darkness.  
Leslie grabbed the paper, letting out a yelp.  
No problem, she just had to-  
_Dammit._  
The door wouldn’t open- Tom and Jerry’s earlier conversation about a doorstop made sense now. She tried rattling the handle, but it wouldn’t budge. She was sealed inside.

***

Ron made his way to Ben’s office, knocking twice on the door before he walked in. Ben stood up with a smile.  
“Ron! You on your way out?”  
“I will be shortly. I was just coming to ask you if you knew that Leslie was planning on staying late?”  
Ben sighed. “I tried to tell her not to, but she’s desperate to get back into her routine.”  
Ron nodded. “Maybe this weekend we should have another gathering. I want her to feel safe, and not that she needs to pretend everything’s normal when it isn’t.”  
Ben smiled sadly. “That’s a good idea. She’s been struggling a lot. I understand the need to carry on as normal, but I wish she knew we were here for her.”  
Ron moved to the exit. “I’m going to get some waffles and try and coax her out.”  
Ben laughed. “If that doesn’t work, we could always build an entire diner at the side of our house. She’d never leave.”  
Ron snorted. “I am certainly capable of doing that.”

Once Ron was gone, Ben shot a text to Ann telling her that they were going to have a gathering this weekend for Leslie.  
Ann’s reply was immediate: **Count me in!**  
Ben sighed softly before returning to his desk. He picked up the picture of the two of them that he kept on his desk, prompting him to smile widely. He loved her so much. He just wished she would let the people she was close to help her out once in a while, rather than her doing all the helping.

***

Leslie was trying to stay calm, but it was getting really hard now. It had been two minutes since the door swung shut on her, and she could feel the air in the tiny room turning stale. Were the walls closing in? It certainly felt like it.  
She tried to take a deep breath, but barely any air was coming in now. It felt like every breath she raked in didn’t actually have any air there.

She dropped the paper on the floor and banged on the door of the stock room, hoping that anybody would hear her. If not, then she was going to be trapped in here for another three hours, when Ben would saunter in looking for her and she would most likely be dead because the walls would have totally crushed her.

Her breathing was more and more erratic now, and Leslie could feel herself becoming light-headed. The all-encompassing blackness just brought back vivid memories of being locked away in the trunk of that car. Now she felt sick.  
She squeezed her eyes shut and tried counting down from ten. But what came after eight? Nothing made sense anymore, and her chest was constricting like crazy.  
Leslie tried banging on the door one last time, but it was clear nobody was here.

She was alone.

***

Ron entered the office with a bag full of waffles. It was now half five, and he expected Leslie to be burying herself into a mountain of work.  
As he walked through the office, however, what surprised him was that there was no movement whatsoever. The room was totally empty. Leslie’s desk had been abandoned, and there wasn’t even a massive pile of papers on her desk. There was only the usual level of mess, and that made Ron frown. Going off Knope standards, she should be deep into her third binder by now.

Ron placed the waffles on the desk before turning to scan the room. When his eyes spotted the closed stockroom, he felt a small jolt of fear in his heart.  
Hurrying over, Ron made quick work of yanking the door open.   
Leslie was curled up in a heap on the floor, taking tiny intakes of breath. Ron’s heart broke- her cheeks were tearstained and she was gasping for air like there was none left in the entire universe.

“Leslie,” Ron whispered, hurrying over. He knelt next to her, but she didn’t seem to acknowledge him. Ron made a quick decision.  
“I’m going to pick you up, okay?”  
She still didn’t answer, but he thought he saw her nod slightly, so that was confirmation enough for him. He scooped her into his arms and hurried out into the bright light of the office, depositing her gently on the nearest chair.

***

Leslie had jumped when the door had burst open- at first she thought it was Tammy, who had somehow returned from wherever she was. Her vision was blurry, but she felt a soothing voice beside her, and realised that it was Ron.  
He asked if he could pick her up, but she couldn’t find the words to answer. She tried to nod instead, and he must have gotten the message, because soon she felt herself being lifted up.  
Leslie wanted to hug herself into Ron, but all too soon he was putting her on a chair. It was light in the Parks Department, but she still couldn’t breathe properly.

“Take some deep breaths,” Ron instructed. He started to breath in deeply, and she attempted to copy him. Ron nodded encouragingly. “That’s it.”  
There were a few seconds silence where it was just the two of them breathing, but Leslie was still feeling the throws of panic.  
“I’m sorry-” she rasped, but Ron shook his head.  
“It’s fine. Just keep breathing.” She did as he told her. “Did you go in there to get more paper and the door swung shut?” Leslie nodded. “Goddammit. I told those two idiots to get that sorted. You know what? I’ll fix it myself.”

Ron stood and walked into his office, briefly leaving Leslie alone. She concentrated on the deep breathing, and all too soon he had returned with a toolbox.  
“I’m going to keep talking to you as I do this. Don’t feel like you have to speak.”  
For the next ten minutes, Ron told Leslie everything he was doing while he fixed the door. Leslie was only half listening, she still felt like her chest was going to explode, but as he kept talking, she felt her anxiety easing considerably.

Once Ron had finished he pulled up a chair and sat next to her silently.  
“I’m sorry,” Leslie whispered. “You were right, I’m not ready.”  
“Don’t apologise,” Ron replied simply. Leslie shook her head.  
“No… I feel like an idiot. I was so ready to carry on like nothing happened, but I guess that I can’t now.” She screwed up her face, feeling tears forming in her eyes. “Nothing’s the same.”  
“Leslie,” Ron said gently. “Don’t feel bad for not feeling totally normal. This is all still very recent.”  
“I just wanted to feel independent again,” she said through tears. “Ben’s been really worried, and I wanted to prove I could.”  
“You can do anything you put your mind to,” Ron affirmed. “But don’t fell guilty for leaning on your friends once in a while. We’re all here to help you.”

Leslie sighed. “Thank you. For helping me.”  
“Any time,” Ron replied. “I’ll always be here for you.”  
Leslie thought maybe he wanted to hug her, but he didn’t move, so she smiled at him instead.  
“I think that it’s time we communicated with Ben,” Ron added. Leslie sighed again.  
“You’re right. God, he’s going to be so worried.”  
“We’re all worried,” Ron answered honestly. “Things like this, they unfortunately can’t go away after a week. But we’re here for you- all of us. You can continue to flourish as the wonderful person you are, and we can be there for support when you need it. Just don’t shy away from getting help.”

Ron’s words hung in the air as Leslie texted Ben briefly telling him of the situation. She then decided to text Ann, because why not.  
Approximately five minutes later, Ben burst into the room, panting.  
“Babe!” he called out, before doubling over to gasp. “Are you okay?”  
“I am now,” Leslie said with a smile as she stood. Ron gave her a small nod, but she moved in to give him a hug.  
And then Ben was there, and she moved away from Ron to hug him.  
“I’m glad you’re okay,” he murmured into her ear. “That must have been scary.”  
“Ron saved me,” Leslie replied with a shrug. She moved back into the hug, and Ben took the time to smile at Ron, who in turn nodded at him in acknowledgement.

***

That weekend, Ann was the first to arrive at Leslie and Ben’s house. She was armed with wine and snacks, and took no time at all to give Leslie the biggest hug in the universe.  
“Are you doing okay?” Ann asked her. Leslie sighed softly, but then Ann was hugging her again, and once they broke apart, Ben was looping his arm around her waist.  
“I… I don’t know,” she answered honestly. “I’d never had a panic attack before… it was horrible.”  
“Ron was there to help,” Ben cut in. Leslie nodded.  
“Yeah, and then when we went home that night, Ben put on a barrister wig for the entire evening.”  
“Sounds like you guys had a good evening,” Ann said with raised eyebrows.

April and Andy were next, and Leslie was very happy to get another giant hug from Andy, (“Leslie! I wrote you a new song- I’d play it for you but I left my guitar at home.”) followed by a strange head bob from April. She was really taking after Ron when it came to silent forms of communication.  
Donna and Tom supplied the entertainment- Tom put a “killer playlist” (in his words) on, while Donna queued up an entire season of Scandal for background entertainment.  
Chris spent fifteen minutes talking to Leslie alone in the hallway about how she was _literally_ the best employee he had ever had, and how she _must_ read this new self-help book he had purchased while going through therapy.

Ron arrived last, and Leslie took the time to stand alone with him in the porch as he took off his shoes and coat.  
“I’m sorry again,” she admitted to him. “The whole thing, like with Tammy and everything that happened afterwards… I feel like we’re both blaming ourselves.”  
“Why would you be to blame for my crazy lucifer of an ex-spouse?” Ron asked in confusion.  
“I don’t know… I think she used me to get at you. Even if that’s the case, I’m glad I could be there to help you out, no matter what happened.”  
Ron smiled at her. “Likewise. I’m proud to call you my close workplace associate.”  
Leslie smirked. “Ron! Don’t think I’ve forgotten that you called me your friend. I may have been concussed but I remember _that_ part very clearly!”

Soon the entire gang (and eventually Jerry, who showed up an hour late after having been given the wrong address) were enjoying an evening together. Leslie knew that her fears and anxieties weren’t going to disappear straight away but knowing that she had endless love and support from her friends made everything just that little bit more bearable.

  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading! <3


	3. The Sleepover

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Leslie is still having some nightmares. She and Ann spend some time together. The boys have a boy's night.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> got one more to go after this I think!!

It was four in the morning, and Leslie was awake again.  
This time, the nightmare had woken her quietly, like she was being drawn back into the real world slowly. The vestiges of it still clung to her, however, and she decided she needed a cup of tea.  
A cup of tea and a mountain of whipped cream.  
She looked over to the side of her bed, where her dream journal was resting. She picked it up sluggishly, and stood, leaving the room as quietly as possible.

Things were more bearable, that was for sure. Her friends were some of the most reliable people in all of Pawnee, save maybe for JJ from JJ’s Diner, but she wasn’t sure he knew enough of the context to provide counsel for her this time.  
After the party, Leslie felt like she was riding high. Things had settled down a little, and once she knew the difficulties she was facing, they were easy to face head on. There was no more denial, and she was taking things slowly. On paper, everything seemed fine.

But she hadn’t factored in just how long it would take for her to get over the trauma of the kidnapping. She’d had a panic attack, thankfully no more than one, and now she avoided small spaces like the plague. Even something as simple as going under her desk to retrieve a pen she had dropped made her chest feel tight, but it was becoming easier to work around.

Ben was a godsend, as always. At first, she worried that she was leaning on him too much, but he made it truly clear from the start that he would always be here to talk to.  
The problem came with the subject of nightmares, of which there were many. When they were violent, he held her tightly and whispered in her ear, providing all the comfort she needed.  
But he was a busy man himself, and after five sleepless nights and five mornings of Ben coming in red-eyed and yawning, Leslie promised herself that she would rely a little less on Ben. For his sake.

She sipped the cream, looking out into the garden. She was happy where she was now. Other than the healing trauma, her life was right on track. She had been absolutely killing it as councillor, and the Parks department was doing better than ever. Tom sent her a text every day with the guy in sunglasses emoji, so she had to assume that was his way of telling her to keep being cool.  
And she was cool, this was just one of those things that she needed to conquer.

Opening her dream journal, Leslie began to methodically note down everything she remembered from the dream. It had featured Tammy, obviously, but this time she had succeeded in taking Leslie to wherever it was she wanted her to go. Usually in the dreams she was stuck in the boot for hours, struggling to draw breath, but this time Tammy opened the boot and grinned down at her, axe still in her hand.  
Leslie had called out to her in horror, but Tammy simply raised the axe and brought it down. That was when Leslie was pulled from the dream, but it happened so slowly that she suffered three or four axe blows before she finally blinked herself awake. Usually, she awoke with a jolt, so the fact that her body had seemed keen for her to live through that one made her _a little_ irritated.

_Oh, for when she dreamed of waffles._

She yawned a little. It was now four thirty, and she could potentially go back for another hour’s sleep before she woke up. Before she could move, however, she heard the gentle padding of feet, and turned to see lovely Ben standing in the doorway.  
“Babe?” he mumbled with a yawn. “Why didn’t you wake me up?”  
Leslie smiled sadly. “I didn’t want to disturb your sleep again.”  
Ben walked over to her and put his arms around her back, hugging her from behind. “You know I don’t mind.”  
“I know, I just feel bad with disrupting your sleep every night. I know it’s fine, but I’d rather not.”  
Ben yawned again, and Leslie chuckled before standing up off the barstool.  
“We’ll go back to bed,” she added, kissing his face. “I’ll try and get another hour.”  
“Okay,” Ben replied sleepily. “But we’ll talk about your dream later, yeah?”  
Leslie smiled.

***

Leslie didn’t manage to get any more sleep last night, which brought her time spent asleep up to a resounding two hours. That was 1.5 less hours than she was used to, and after having about a month of that, it was starting to show.  
Her friends all knew why, so none of them made snarky comments on her appearance. While it was a nice gesture, part of her wanted things to be totally normal, even if it meant them teasing her mercilessly. It would help to distract her from the fact that things weren’t totally fine.

The exception was April, who commented on the fact she looked tired pretty much every time they were alone. Leslie didn’t think it was a mean-spirited thing, rather it was April just being April.  
Andy didn’t say anything about how she looked, but he did bring in a ten-kilogram bag of coffee he bought from Food and Stuff for her. The one problem was that it split on the way into work, so there was a lovely trail of coffee grounds from the entrance of the building to Leslie’s desk.

It had been a tiring day, but Leslie perked up massively when Ann Perkins herself came into her office at around three pm. Leslie had just got off the phone with somebody important, and was taking a second before she got into another load of work.  
She was really tired. But she didn’t have anything specific she could tell her friends- once they knew she was having nightmares, all they could really do was offer support, and an ear if she wanted to talk about it.

“Hey!” Ann said cheerily as she knocked on the already open door.  
It was a habit Leslie respected, but she had told Ann multiple times that she would drop literally anything for her. Ann had replied that the knock was important, and that should Leslie be having an important meeting, Ann didn’t want to burst in with waffles. Leslie disagreed.  
“Hey!” Leslie replied, perking up. She stifled a yawn on the back of her hand as Ann came to sat in the chair opposite her desk.  
“What are you up to tonight?” Ann asked. “I think Chris wants to take Ben out somewhere, they haven’t hung out in a while.”  
“That’s a great idea!” Leslie replied. “I feel like Ben’s spent so much time with me lately that he needs a break.”  
Ann frowned. “If you’re suggesting what I think you are, I’m going to have to shut you down straight away. Ben doesn’t mind being there for you.”

Leslie sighed. “I know, but I feel like I’m taking up so much of his time lately. Even sleeping is hard.”  
Ann frowned harder. “I thought that was getting easier?”  
Leslie shook her head. “No, I just haven’t talked about it as much, I guess. Nothing new to report.”  
Ann smiled sadly. “Well, how about we have a girl’s night on Saturday?”  
“That sounds great! I’m looking forward to it.”  
Ann gave her a grin, and Leslie grinned back.  
“I’ll text Ben and tell him Chris can stay the night.”  
Ann snorted. “Now we look like their parents. Does this mean you want to do a sleepover?”  
Leslie hesitated, before nodding. “Yeah. It’ll be fun.”  
Ann squeezed her arm. “It’ll be the best.”  
Ann left soon after that, and Leslie felt a little anxious. Only because she didn’t want an incident to happen while she was at Ann’s, a this point she was desperate to just have one night undisturbed. Maybe if they got super drunk, things would get better?”

***

That was the mentality she went into the night with, anyway.  
Before she left the house, when she was stockpiling wine from the kitchen cupboard, Leslie had a gorgeous conversation with Ben.  
“If you need me, ring me,” he said multiple times. Leslie put down the wine and pulled him in for a tight hug.  
“I will. But don’t spend all night worrying about me. What do you have planned?”  
“Well it was just going to be me and Chris, but now I think Ron is coming too.”  
Leslie would have spat out her drink, had she had one in her hand.  
“Ron? Ron Swanson? From work?” Ben nodded.  
“Yup. I asked Tom, but he and Donna are going to some spa. Something about treat yourself, which, by the way, is secretly genius.”  
“I always knew it was!”  
“And I also asked Andy and April what they were doing, but I’m pretty sure they’re visiting April’s parents this weekend. I don’t think April seemed so happy about that.”

Leslie was vaguely aware of that situation. She had asked April if she wanted to come round that evening, and April had sighed loudly, before screeching like an eagle, surprising Jerry so viciously that he dropped his sandwich on the floor and then proceeded to slip on it, much to Tom and Andy’s amusement.  
Leslie had assumed it wasn’t to do with her and moved on with her day, but it was nice to get a little closure on that bizarre event.  
“Sounds like a good evening,” Leslie said with a grin.  
“For sure. Chris said that he would _literally_ want nothing more in his _entire life_ than to spend the evening with his friends.”  
“I gotta’ agree with him,” Leslie replied. “It’s a shame April’s busy, but I’m really excited to spend time with Ann. A bit of normalcy.”  
Ben hugged her again.  
“I love you.” Leslie felt her whole body turn to jelly, like it always did when he said those words. She never once got tired of hearing them.  
“I love you too.”

***

“Hey!” Ann yelled as she opened the door. Leslie’s eyes widened.  
“You’re excited!”  
“Of course I am!” Ann replied eagerly. “It’s been ages since we’ve hung out, just us two!”  
The two of them got to drinking pretty much straight away. While Leslie hoped that the wine would make her giddy and excited, it felt that after three or four glasses, she was now more tired than ever. Still, she pushed down that feeling to gossip with Ann about work, or who in the building was hot (girls included- Leslie was particularly impressed with Donna’s new hairstyle) and ranking their favourite episodes of NCIS.

After a while, however, Leslie failed to hold back a particularly vigorous yawn.  
“Woah, hey,” Ann said, surprised. “Are you tired? We can go to bed if you want.”  
“No,” Leslie whined. “It’s barely midnight, and usually we can go until, like, four in the morning.”  
Ann chuckled. “That was never the best idea, to be fair. Remember when you had to go into work the next day? And you poured coffee onto Mark’s designs?”  
Leslie snorted. “Poor Mark. I wonder what he’s up to these days?”  
“No idea.”

Leslie yawned again, and Ann laughed.  
“Hey, it’s fine,” she insisted. “Besides, if we get into our pyjamas and put a duvet on the sofa, we can both sleep in here. It’ll be fun!”  
Leslie could have melted on the spot at how adorable her best friend was.  
“Ann, you adorable majestic foal-”  
“Is it possible to be adorable _and_ majestic?”  
“Irrelevant. You’re too good to me.”

Leslie paused to spray whipped cream into her mouth. When she spoke next, it was muffled due to the sheer velocity of cream obstructing her speech.  
“You’re my best friend!”  
“You’re my best friend too!” Ann responded with a laugh. She leaned over to squeeze Leslie’s arm. “And I’m proud of you. You’ve been incredible this year. No, don’t look at me like that- I mean it. You really have.”  
The two leaned over to hug each other. Leslie yawned again, and Ann pulled away, giving her hand a squeeze.  
“Let’s get into our pyjamas.”

***

They spoke for a short while longer, but soon the chatter dissolved into a one-sided conversation, with Ann speaking quietly about many different things, and Leslie humming along. Ann knew she preferred it this way- if Leslie thought for one second that Ann stopped because of her, she would be upset. Ann had tried to fight her on this many times, but the best thing to do was to just keep going until she went to sleep.  
That happened approximately thirteen minutes after Ann started talking. Leslie snuggled down under the covers, and Ann did likewise, the two of them top and tailing on the sofa. It was a bit of a squeeze, but something about the whole experience reminded Ann of being a little girl.  
She briefly wondered what the two of them would have been like, had they met in school, before she too fell asleep.

She was woken up about an hour after that to a vicious kick to her abdomen. Yelping in pain, Ann fell off the sofa, groaning. She was about to get really scared, when she realised that Leslie was having a nightmare, and all her previous confusion was forgotten.  
Instead she sprung up and moved to kneel next to Leslie, shaking her shoulder as she turned left and right, twisting the duvet around herself in panic.

“Leslie!” Ann said loudly, and it was enough to snap her out of it.  
Leslie’s eyes shot open, and she sat up violently. Ann had to spring back yet again in order to not get walloped in the face, but she quickly sat up again and put her hand on her best friend’s arm as she caught her breath.  
“Hi, hey…” Ann murmured soothingly. “You’re fine, you’re okay…”  
“I’m sorry,” Leslie muttered, pulling her knees up to her chest. “I had a feeling that would happen; Ben is used to it now which sucks but you’re not and I’ve ruined it and-”  
“Hey. Stop that,” Ann said sternly, moving to sit back on the sofa and wrapped Leslie in a hug. “We meant it when we said we’d be here for you. How often does this happen?”

Leslie hesitated before answering. “Every night.”  
Ann winced. “God, Leslie, no wonder you’re tired. Have you thought about seeing a counsellor?”  
Leslie frowned. She vaguely remembered seeing a counsellor when she was ten, after her Father died, but that was a mush of confusing and painful memories. Ann must have caught her expression, because her own face softened.  
“You don’t have to decide right away," she continued. "It’s probably a good idea to at least think about it, though.”  
“You’re right,” Leslie said slowly, nodding.  
“And not just because you feel bad for Ben- who doesn’t mind- it’s to help you, too. All of this, it isn’t good for you.”  
“I know...”

Ann hugged Leslie again, before checking her phone. “Do you want me to call Ben? They’re probably still out.”  
Leslie chewed her lip. “It’s fine, I’ll ring him. If he’s still out, that is.”  
As if on cue, Leslie’s phone screen lit up, displaying a picture of Ben on the screen. The two friends looked at each other in amazement. Leslie hurried to answer the phone.  
“Speak of the devil!” she said into the phone. “We were just talking about you!”  
“ _Babe_!” Ben slurred. “ _I’m preeeetty drunk right now, but I wanted to call and say… g’night._ ”  
“Aw, babe,” Leslie replied, smiling. “Have you had a good evening?”  
Ben hiccupped into the phone. “ _Hell. Yes._ ”

There was some fumbling, and then the voice of Chris Traeger came down the phone.  
“ _Leslie Knope!_ ” Chris said bouncily. “ _You have such a professional phone voice.”  
_“Chris!” Leslie said loudly, looking at Ann with a grin. “What happened to Ben?”  
“ _He’s a little- ah- preoccupied right now. And by preoccupied, I mean that Ron is helping him vomit into the dumpster outside the bar currently.”  
_Leslie winced. “Oh dear. Can you make sure he gets back okay? Are you staying over?”  
“ _I am indeed, and I will literally carry him to bed myself. And then I will keep vigil all night_.”  
“Chris! You’re so sweet. Sorry that Ben’s a bit of a lightweight. Oh, Ann’s waving at me- she says hi!”  
“ _Ann Perkins_!”

Leslie chewed her lip again. “Oh, Chris?”  
“ _Yeah?”_  
“When you get the chance, do you think you can give me the number for your therapist?”  
“ _Oh, you mean_ _Dr. Richard Nygard?”_  
“Yes, please.”  
“ _Of course, Leslie Knope!”_  
Then there was some more fumbling, and then Ben was back on the phone.  
“ _I feel better now I threw up.”_  
Ann leaned in to speak down the phone. “Don’t forget to drink a lot of water and sleep in the recovery position, but I’m sure Chris will enforce that!”  
“ _Thanks Ann!”_ And then Leslie heard Chris say something in the background about how he would _literally_ never let them down.

“ _While I was vomiting I heard you talking to Chris. Do you want to get therapy?”_ Ben whispered into the phone.  
“I think so, yeah. It’s about time these nightmares stopped.”  
“ _Aw, babe. I love you. And Chris loves you too_! _Platonically!_ ” Some fumbling.  
“ _I do!”_ Chris added.  
“Aww!” Leslie said. “Do you love Ann?”  
The two of them laughed when there was some uncharacteristic silence, but then Ben was on the phone again.  
_“And Ron loves you too!”  
_There was some muffled shouting from down Ben’s end, and then Ron’s gruff voice came through the phone.  
_“I am supporting the therapy suggestion. No further comments to be made about anything else discussed tonight. Goodbye.”_

Ron hung up, then, and the two girls groaned loudly, grinning.  
Before long, there was a text from Chris with the details for Dr. Richard Nygard, swiftly followed by an image showing a sleeping Ben, and Chris giving an overly enthusiastic thumbs up, captioned: **TIME FOR BED!**  
“Does he always have to type in all-caps?” Ann mused.  
“Look, Ann! He took your advice about the water and the recovery position. He totally loves you.”  
Ann snorted. “Don’t be silly.”

The two girls snuggled down again. Ann poked Leslie with her foot.  
“Are you okay?” Leslie sighed happily.  
“I think so. I’ll start therapy. And I’ve got my best friend by my side.”  
“You’ve got so many friends! And a cute boyfriend, too, don’t forget.”  
“Oh, I hadn’t forgotten.”  
Leslie’s phone went off again, and when she checked it, the picture of Ben had been posted on the group chat. It was shortly followed by some incredible selfies of Tom and Donna, and then after that, a picture of April pretending to strangle her sleeping Mother, and then Andy with fake blood on his face. Or at least, Leslie assumed it was fake blood. It was hard to tell with Andy.

“You’re right,” Leslie said with a grin. “I’ve got a lot of people who care.”  
“Of course you do! Now let’s get some sleep, yeah?”  
Leslie lay back down, and soon she was drifting off. Ann stayed up a little while, but there were no more incidents to report that night. Leslie Knope was doing okay.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you enjoyed! <3


	4. The Party

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The gang go to a party. A familiar face ruins the night.

It had been over two months, and things were better.

Leslie had been going to therapy twice a week, a step down from Chris’ usual thirteen times. Things were much, _much_ better than they were. She could now sleep soundly at least four nights a week and finding herself in a small space wasn’t as terrifying as it had been in the past.  
Leslie still avoided the supply closet like the plague, but she had found recently that a new packet of paper was always placed on her desk every few days, meaning she didn’t have to go in.

She hadn’t found out who it was, but unless Ron had informed the rest of the department about the incident, it had to be him. It was those kinds of tiny shows of support that fueled Leslie Knope to keep doing what she was doing. The people of Pawnee might not appreciate her, but her friends did, and that was better than all the cheering crowds in the universe.

“Hey boo,” Tom called as he knocked on the door of her office. She was in City Councillor mode today, but it was lovely to see a friendly face when things got stressful.  
“Tom!” Leslie replied. “What’s up?”  
Tom paused to answer a text, but when he put his phone away, he was grinning.  
“I came to tell you about this ah-mazing party that’s happening to-night! Jean Ralphio is hosting it at this abandoned factory he bought with the money had had left over from getting hit by a Honda!”  
Leslie scrunched up her face in confusion. “How does he survive all these encounters?”  
Tom paused to think. “I’m honestly not sure. Maybe his bones are made of rubber. Anyway- you coming?”

Leslie sighed slowly. She hadn’t done many public events since the incident- the worry that Tammy was going to appear, while greatly diminished, was still niggling at the back of her brain. Tom seemed to catch her expression, because he smiled at her.  
“Everyone else is coming. Even Ron is coming, which is rare. It’ll be fun!”  
Leslie knew that he secretly meant _we’ll be here to look after you the whole time_ , and she appreciated his discretion.  
“Okay,” she said warmly. “I’m excited. What time does it start?”  
“Eight!” Tom yelled as he left the room. “And it’s smart dress!”

***

“What does ‘smart dress’ even mean? I mean, work clothes are smart. Wedding dresses are smart-”  
“I’m not wearing a wedding dress, Ben.”  
“Still! I would even go so far as to say that the Batman costume is smart.”  
Leslie turned from where she was fixing her hair in the mirror to good-naturedly roll her eyes at her fiancé.  
“Honey- don’t take this the wrong way- but I don’t think the Batman costume is the right… idea.”  
“Okay, fine, I’ll stick with what I’m wearing,” Ben replied with a grin. “And I’ll put the suit on later.”  
He winked then, and Leslie snorted.

Ben was wearing a dark blue jacket, black shirt and black jeans. Leslie’s dress had been leant to her by Ann, who also had no clue what to wear. Leslie wasn’t great with fashion, but Ann had said that this dress made her boobs look great, and who was she to pass off a compliment by the radiant goddess of beauty herself?

“Hey,” Ben murmured once they were dressed and heading to the door. “Are you okay?”  
“Yeah,” Leslie replied as she let out a long breath. “It’s about time I did more things… outside.”  
“At least it’s not _actually_ outside. A little chilly for that, don’t you think?”  
“Definitely.” Leslie smiled at Ben, before pulling him in for a kiss. “Besides, I know I’ve got a superhero by my side to keep me safe.”  
“I know you’re saying that to be sweet, but I think we both know who the superhero in this relationship is, babe.”

***

When Tom said that the venue was in an abandoned factory, Leslie had assumed that it would be renovated. But when they pulled up in the taxi to the address and the building in front of them was literally falling to pieces, the two of them had to give each other an uneasy glance.  
And the inside was hardly better. There were exposed pipes leaking an unknown brown fluid, the bricks were crumbling, and the floor was uneven- and that was just the ground floor.  
The room was large, though. And candles had been placed around the corners, and there were a few flickering lightbulbs hanging from the ceiling; giving the entire room a bizarre grunge feel.

“Tom!” Leslie called as she and Ben entered the room.  
Tom broke away from the small crowd he was speaking avidly to and gave her a wave.  
“Leslie!” he yelled.  
“Is this _safe_?” Tom laughed loudly.  
“Safe! Of course it’s safe!”  
There was a loud crash, and the three of them turned to see Andy yanking a pipe off the wall, to the enjoyment of April. Andy turned to them and held the pipe up in the air in excitement.  
“THIS PLACE IS AWESOME!” Andy yelled. “C’mon, babe, let’s see what else I can pull off the wall!”  
April grinned. “Cool.”

Leslie and Ben watched Andy and April run off, and Tom chuckled.  
“This venue is too cool to pass up. Jean Ralphio is calling his date, who apparently is making an appearance tonight.”  
“So… what’s this party for, anyway?” Ben asked curiously. Tom groaned.  
“Ben! Can’t you just have a party for party’s sake?! Seriously dude.”  
Tom walked off then, and Ben looked around in confusion. Before long, however, Donna had approached them, donned in a gorgeous sequin dress only she could pull off.  
“Don’t question it, Wyatt. Just enjoy.”

***

Leslie located Ann soon after, who had been in a pleasant conversation with Chris, but once Leslie was there, the two of them were excitedly talking.  
“It’s great to see you!” Ann was yelling in her ear. The music was inexplicably loud, and it was some booming song Leslie didn’t know.  
“You too!” Leslie shouted back, and Ann laughed.  
In all honestly, it felt good to be socializing. And things only got better when Leslie spotted Ron stood in the corner of the room, nursing a whiskey. She left Ann behind to jog over to him, grinning.

“Ron!” Ron nodded to her.  
“Knope.”  
“Where’s Dianne?”  
“She and the girls are visiting family this weekend.”  
“That’s nice!”  
Ron shrugged. “It has given me time to replace the staircase in the house. And add a porch.”  
“Wow! And it’s only Friday- just think about what you can get done by Sunday!”

Ron tilted his head at her, giving her an almost-smile.  
“You seem cheerful tonight.” Leslie sighed happily.  
“It feels good to be at a party. I feel like things have been bad recently, and this is the sign that things are improving.” Ron nodded.  
“That’s certainly good to hear.”

Before Leslie could reply, suddenly a hand was on her arm. Leslie jumped, and turned to see Ann and Ben at her side, both looking anxious.  
“Guys-” Ann started.  
“Leslie-” Ben said at the same time. Ron and Leslie looked at each other.  
“What is it?” Leslie asked in confusion.  
And then Chris was there, giving her a solemn thumbs up. “We are _literally_ screwed.”  
“What?!”  
Ann huffed. “We need to go outside for some air for a while. Come with?”  
Ann’s voice sounded stressed, and Leslie narrowed her eyes.  
“Ann, what is it?”

Ron’s head suddenly turned to face the entrance to the room, his nostrils flaring. Leslie then jumped in surprise when his hand was also on her arm. Then he turned to her.  
“Tammy is here. We need to leave.”  
Leslie’s body turned to ice.  
“What?” she whispered.  
“She’s here. We need to-”  
“HI RON!”

***

The music was cut off dramatically and the crowd parted like the red sea. It was almost like every single person here knew how much of a villainous leech Tammy 2 was.  
April, who was stood nearest to the door where Tammy was, snarled in anger, and would have run over to face her, had Andy not held her back.  
Tom and Donna’s heads whipped to look at Leslie, who slunk behind Ann as Ron moved past her to stand in the empty space, directly opposite Tammy.

“What are you doing here?”  
“I didn’t know this party had a guest list. I thought it was open for all.”  
Ron heard Tom groan from the corner, and then a quiet: “I _knew_ I should have had a guest list!”  
“You need to leave. You are _not_ welcome here. How are you not still in-”  
“Prison? My new boyfriend bailed me out.”  
“Boyfriend?” Ron echoed, aghast.

Before anybody else could speak, Jean Ralphio ran into the room, whooping.  
“BABE!” he yelled, before jumping next to Tammy and wrapping his arms around her shoulder. There was almost a collective groan, before Tom yelled: “Jean Ralphio, you idiot!”  
“Oh yeah, he’s rich now. All it took was a hit by my Honda, and he’s rolling in it,” Tammy whispered seductively. “Are you jealous, Ron?”  
“Not at all.”  
“You’re a bad liar, Ron. I always knew you were weak.”

Ron glowered, and Leslie could feel her body filling with rage. She had Ben’s hand on her arm, and Ann standing in front of her protectively, but before she knew what she was doing, she was breaking away from the two of them. Ben turned to look at her, confused.  
“Babe?”  
And then Ann was squeezing her arm. “Les?”  
Leslie shook her head at the two of them. “I’ve got to help him.”  
Ann and Ben looked at each other anxiously, but Leslie had already stepped through the crowd and moved to stand next to Ron, who looked at her in surprise.

“TAMMY!” Leslie yelled. “I’ve got a bone to pick with you.”  
Tammy’s head rolled on her neck, like she was sizing Leslie up. And then she was grinning wickedly.  
“Leslie Knope. Last time I saw you, you were locked in a car boot.”  
Leslie ignored how her heart began to race, instead focusing calmly on the witch in front of her.  
“It’s time to end this. I want to speak with you outside. This isn’t your party, and Jean Ralphio isn’t your boyfriend. He just thinks he is.” She turned to smile apologetically at him. “Sorry.”  
Jean Ralphio shrugged, a goofy grin on his face. “Does this mean we can hook up?”  
Leslie frowned. “No, obviously not.” She returned her focus to Tammy. “You, me. Outside. Now.”

She looked up at Ron, who was looking at her like she had grown a second head. Then she turned to Ann and Ben, who were both white as a sheet. She tried to give Ben an encouraging smile, but she had a feeling it came out more like a grimace, because Ben grimaced back.  
“What are you doing?” Ron hissed, as Tammy stomped towards them.  
“I need to end this.”  
“Well, I’m coming with you.”  
“Ron!” Leslie hissed back. “She’ll destroy you!”  
Ron shook his head. “Her charms don’t work on me anymore.”

***

Leslie, Ron and Tammy stood in the back alley. Ben was stood at the top of the staircase by the open door, and Andy was stood with him, trying to look as big and tough as possible. Leslie also had a feeling that April was hiding in the shadows somewhere and had no doubt in her mind that any of her friends would leap out and attack this she-demon, should they be given the chance.  
This wasn’t like last time. She had her friends with her, and she wasn’t going to let Tammy be the reason she had nightmares any longer.

“Oh, don’t look at me like that!” Tammy purred, biting her nail and raising her eyebrows suggestively. “You were going to run into me sometime.”  
“I didn’t realise we had the gates to hell,” Ron spat, and Leslie gave him a high-five without looking.  
“Ron,” Tammy said with a laugh. “You know we deserve each other.”  
“No, you deserve to rot in prison!” Ben yelled from the stairs.  
“Thanks babe!” Leslie called, still looking at Tammy, who rolled her eyes.  
“I don’t really get what all the _point_ of this is, Leslie, so if you would just leave the adults here to have the discussions, maybe-”

“You need to back off, Tammy. Ron is in a relationship. Maybe you would be in one too if you weren’t a heartless bitch. The last time we met, I had to drive you miles away from town to stop you from trying to seduce a taken man. And what did I get?”  
Leslie’s breath hitched, but she ignored it; swallowing it down to carry on.  
“I got knocked out and shoved in a car boot.” Leslie watched Tammy as she rolled her eyes again, and that only made her angrier. “I think you need serious help, Tammy. You’re obsessed with Ron, and you need to let it go. It isn’t healthy, and you’re making everybody miserable.”

“Oh really! Well, I’d take you seriously if the last time I saw you, you weren’t crying your eyes out because you didn’t like the _dark_.”  
Ron moved forwards, as if he were going to punch Tammy, but Leslie grabbed his arm. She wanted everybody to stay calm. Instead, she scoffed.  
“You kidnapped me!”  
Tammy just laughed again, and Leslie felt tears prickling behind her eyes, but then Ron’s hand was on her shoulder, squeezing it tightly.  
“Leslie’s right,” Ron growled. “You are a terrible person. I have no pity for you. What you did to me was bad, but what you did to Leslie was unforgivable. I will _never_ love you, and you need to accept that.”

Something about Ron’s words must have flicked a switch in Tammy, because all of a sudden, she was screaming. And then she brought up her hands and pushed Leslie, hard.  
Leslie reeled back and felt her head connect painfully with the wall behind her. There was a loud thump, and Leslie yelped in pain, which blossomed immediatey following the contact with the wall.  
Ron roared in anger. "TAMMY!"  
Andy and Ben started pelting down the stairs, with Ben yelling "LESLIE!" but then Leslie held up her hands, ignoring the throbbing pain in the back of her head.

“Stop!”  
Everybody froze. Leslie spotted April out of the corner of her eye, holding a smashed bottle up into the moonlight, directly opposite Tammy. She would probably have ran Tammy through, had she not frozen in place.  
Leslie looked at Andy, who continued down the stairs and grabbed Tammy, holding her arms back.  
Leslie turned to Tammy and smiled at her sadly. “Why did you do that?”  
“You’ve ruined Ron _forever_ ,” she spat. Leslie glanced at Ron, who was staring at her, concerned.  
“Ron can make his own decisions. And so can you. I just wish it hadn’t come to this. You’ve made me unhappy for months, to the extent where I was so excited for tonight- for a bit of _normalcy_. I can’t believe I was scared of you, because now I just feel sorry for you.”

Leslie turned to Ben, who was squatting as close to her through the grime-covered staircase as he could. She reached through the bars and squeezed his hand.  
“Babe-” he started.  
“Ann has the police on standby. Get her to call them.”  
Ben nodded, his face set in a hard frown, before disappearing up the stairs and vanishing. April took the time to come out of the shadows and point the glass bottle at Tammy threateningly, prompting Andy to chuckle, tightening his grip on Tammy and keeping her arms behind her back.  
“Burt Macklin is taking the perp into custody,” he announced as he dragged Tammy towards the stairs. “And Janet Snakehole is assisting-”

Leslie didn’t hear the rest. Her head was banging, and her vision was blurry. She found herself staggering into Ron, who caught her quickly.  
“Knope, are you okay?” he asked her anxiously. “Leslie?”  
Leslie groaned. “She really laid one on me- _again_. Nasty cow.”  
“Should I get Ann?” Ron asked her, his voice desperate.  
Leslie groaned, but found that she couldn’t reply. The back of her head was burning, and her vision was swimming madly- like a double dose of snake juice.  
“I’ve got you, I’ve got you-” Ron was saying, hoisting her up, but then everything went black.


	5. The End

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Parks crew are shook

“Do you think she’s okay?”

April was snapped out of her melancholy musing when Andy returned from the hospital vending machine, trailing his feet behind him. The euphoria of acting as Burt Macklin and Janet Snakehole had worn off as soon as Tammy was escorted into the police car- then they had had to watch as EMTs burst into the party to take Leslie to hospital.  
April had no idea how she was when that happened- but then she was left standing at the side of the road with Andy holding her hand and Tom Haverford talking loudly to the party-goers, telling them that the night was over and they had to go home.

It had been a terrible time. April knew that Leslie had been so excited to do something that wasn’t a quiet night in- she had been gearing up for it for months, and then it had been ruined.  
That being said, Andy was quick to point out that she had handled the situation very well, and if Andy could see that, then she must have done something right.

Then the two of them had trailed back inside to speak to Ann, who was red-faced and teary. April didn’t usually speak to Ann at all if possible, but for some reason she found herself being the recipient of a tight hug.  
“I can’t believe it, it’s so unfair!” Ann was shouting. April awkwardly patted her back.  
“Where’s Ben?” she asked hollowly.  
“In the ambulance,” Donna answered moving to stand next to them. Then Chris appeared, and Ann finally released April to hug Chris instead. He eagerly accepted, but April found herself slightly missing the contact.  
“Where’s Ron?” Andy asked, looking around.  
“Giving the police a statement,” Chris said with none of his usual vigor. The venue was empty now, and April found herself moving to sit on one of the grimy chairs.

Before long, Ron slowly walked through into the building, and all eyes turned to look at him.  
“Are you okay?” Ann asked, sniffing. She stepped away from Chris and walked over to Ron, who held up his hand.  
“I’ll be fine. We need to go to the hospital, though.”  
“Agreed,” Chris cut in. “I for one, am sober, so I will happily drive everybody.”  
“I have a mini-van!” Jean Ralphio shouted from the other side of the room. April had almost forgotten he was here, as he had been unusually quiet.  
“ _Jean Ralphio-Saperstein!_ May we please borrow it?”

“Sure,” Jean Ralphio said, jumping over to them.  
Tom entered the room, then, and Jean Ralphio sprung over to him, hugging him tightly. April’s eyes widened.  
“Tom! I’m so sorry! I feel like this is all my fault, dawg!”  
“Eh-” Tom said awkwardly, pulling away. “Let’s just… go to the hospital. You should probably stay here and finish clearing up.”  
“Wait,” Andy said, rounding on Jean Ralphio. “Why were you hanging out with Tammy, anyway?”  
“Let’s not say her name,” Ron growled. “She might appear.”  
“I’m sorry!” Jean Ralphio begged. “I really didn’t know!”

The Parks crew all looked at each other.  
“I actually believe you,” Donna said, breaking the silence. Ann nodded, grimacing.  
“I feel like you’re an easy target. No offence.”  
Jean Ralphio nodded. “That’s what my Dad says!”  
Andy pulled April up from her seat, and the lot of them hurriedly left the building. April could sense Ron hanging back, and then Ann did too, but it was clear they were having some kind of personal moment, so she left them to it.  
Apparently, Ann had phoned the police as soon as Leslie, Ron and Tammy went outside, which (April hated to admit) was definitely the right move. April was only slightly put out, as had she actually stabbed Tammy, she wouldn’t have had time to run.

***

And then they had reached the hospital, and Ann and Ron had run off trying to find out information. Tom and Donna sat together, the two of them chatting with stern faces. It always scared April when Donna looked unnerved- she was usually so chipper.  
Chris, the master of being chipper, was pacing back and forth through the perimeter of the waiting room but watching him made April dizzy.  
They were like that for a long time, and left April leaning against a slimy wall and Andy looking for coffee.

“Wait,” Andy said once he returned. “Was Jerry with us? Was he even at the party?”  
“Oh,” Tom called from the other side of the (surprisingly empty) waiting room. “Yeah, we didn’t have a guest list, but I did make a ‘No-No’ list. And it’s just Jerry.”  
Andy snorted, and April sipped her coffee, slowly wishing that Leslie would spring up from behind a chair or something. Seeing Leslie as anything other than happy had always made April feel a little sick. It was almost like seeing a teacher outside of school, or seeing your Mother cry. It was something strange and unnatural, and April hated it.

So she put her head on Andy’s shoulder and shut her eyes, trying to think of anything other than Tammy 2’s punch-able face.

***

Ben Wyatt was sitting outside of the hospital room with his head in his hands when Ann and Ron found him. Ann immediately felt her gut turn to ice, but when Ben looked up, he gave them a tired smile. It was all he could muster.  
“Are you alright son?” Ron asked as he and Ann took a seat on either side of him.  
“I don’t know,” Ben answered honestly. “The doctors are in there with her now, I don’t know if she’s woken up yet or anything.” Then he turned to Ann. “Getting two head injuries in the space of two months, how bad is that?”  
Ann swallowed. “Well, not great. She might have long term effects, but it’d be best not to think about that until we hear what the doctor says, yeah?”

Ben sighed again. “I can’t believe it. Out of all the people who _don’t_ deserve this…”  
Ron nodded. “I couldn’t agree more. I was so distracted with Leslie that, thankfully, I didn’t commit a murder right there.”  
“ _Andy_ had to push me back,” Ben muttered. “He jumped straight into detaining Tammy, whereas I just wanted to kill her.” He chuckled darkly.  
“What happened out there?” Ann asked the men, confused. “I was on the phone to the police, you can’t have been out there longer than five minutes and then all hell broke loose!”  
“That is correct,” Ron said slowly. “Leslie told Tammy that she needed to back off, both from myself and from all of us in general. She also suggested that Tammy get some professional help, and I agreed. That was when Tammy freaked out and pushed her into the wall.”

Ben winced, and Ron looked at him apologetically.  
“It’s fine,” Ben insisted. “Leslie was wonderful, as always. She’s so… diplomatic.”  
The trio sat in silence for a while, but then Ron was speaking again.  
“She’ll be alright. She’s Leslie Knope.”  
“I’m terrified,” Ben admitted. “That it won’t be enough to be Leslie Knope.”  
“It will,” Ron answered. “To tell you the truth, son, that’s the second time I’ve felt powerless when helping Leslie, and I hate it. I should have done more.”  
“You’re telling me!” Ben shot back, a little agitated. “Why didn’t we just tie her up or something?”  
“Because Leslie wanted to face her fears and confront Tammy directly,” Ron replied. “And it would have worked, too, if Tammy hadn’t been, well….”  
“A crazy bitch?” Ben asked, and Ron laughed.

“I’m done with feeling powerless,” Ben continued. “Leslie has done so much for all of us, and I feel like all I’ve done is let her down.”  
“Don’t say that,” Ann said, speaking for the first time in a while. “Leslie didn’t want it to turn into a witch hunt, and she wanted to try and solve the problem through talking. That’s what she does for her job, and it works like a charm. If we had gone out there and attacked Tammy, the lot of us would be sat in a cell right now.”  
“The Nurse has a point,” Ron added, looking at Ben, who groaned. “Attacking a woman wouldn’t have done any of us any favours.”  
“But a woman was attacked! My girlfriend! And I was just _stood there_ , I-”

The door to the hospital room opened, and a nurse with a kind face stepped out. The three friends all leapt up out their seats.  
“How is she?” Ben gasped.  
“She’s resting,” the Nurse replied. “Don’t worry, she’s going to be fine. No lasting damage.”  
Ben deflated in relief, and Ron put his hand on his shoulder.  
“Can we see her?” Ann asked. The Nurse nodded.  
“Yes, that’s fine, but we don’t allow more than three visitors. I know you have a lot of friends in the waiting room, so maybe tell them that the panic is over, and to go home.”

Ron thanked the Nurse, while Ann hurried down the hospital corridors and out into the waiting room. She immediately spotted Tom and Donna watching something on an iPad, and Chris doing star-jumps in the corner. Then there was Andy and April, who were dozing, leaning against each other. Upon her appearance, however, the lot of them jumped to attention.

“How is she?” Chris asked at the same time as Tom.  
“She’s going to be fine. She’s asleep right now, though, so I’ve been told that you guys should probably go home.”  
“No way!” April yelled indignantly. “I’m not leaving!”  
“I thought you might say that,” Ann said with a smile. “My house is nearby, so if I give Chris my keys, how about you guys wait there?”  
That idea went down very well, and soon the lot of them were filtering out. Chris gave Ann’s arm a squeeze, and then they were gone. So Ann walked back to the hospital room to face the music.

***

It hit four in the morning when Leslie woke up. Ann and Ben were asleep, slumped into each other and snoring softly. Ron was looking at his hands, neatly folded in his lap, when he heard a quiet:  
“Hey.”  
Ron’s head shot up, and Leslie was smiling at him. And Ron didn’t even think first- he properly smiled. It wasn’t a Swanson half-smile, rather his whole face lit up, and Leslie’s smile only got wider because of it.  
She blinked wearily at him, before forcing herself to sit up. Ron was there to guide her up gently, a hand on her shoulder. “Easy.”

“I’m alright, don’t worry. Are you okay?”  
Ron nodded, but he didn’t know what else to say. Leslie looked at Ann and Ben and had to chuckle quietly. They looked adorable. Leslie wished she had her camera so she could document that moment forever.  
“It looked scarier than it was, by all accounts,” Ron continued quietly. “You might have some headaches for a while, but other than that…”  
Leslie nodded, still smiling, and Ron narrowed his eyes.  
“I have to ask,” he said gruffly. “Why are you so calm about this?”  
“Because,” Leslie said. “I stood up to Tammy. I was so scared for months, and I feel like I can finally move on from it. I don’t think I’ve ever felt more in control in my life than right then, when I was telling her I felt sorry for her.”

“But… she hurt you,” Ron said slowly. “I wanted to kill her.”  
“I know,” Leslie continued hurriedly. “And, well, I hate her guts. But she was lashing out in anger because she knew I was right, and that just makes it clear that I shouldn’t be afraid.”  
“She’s capable of a lot,” Ron warned. Leslie nodded, her eyes wide.  
“I know that, Ron. This is the second time she’s sent me to the hospital, but I’m just happy I don’t have to live in fear anymore.” Leslie sighed. “I stopped being scared when she said those horrible things to you. I had to act.”  
Ron put his hand on her arm. “I appreciate that, Leslie. And I’m sorry.”  
“Don’t think it’s your fault, Ron. It’s honestly okay,” Leslie replied with a smile. “I’m Leslie Knope. And I can do anything.”

It was then that Ben stirred awake, and when he saw Leslie he immediately yelled: “BABE!”  
And then he was leaping across the bed and kissing Leslie full force, prompting Ron to jerk back, slightly put out. And then all that movement woke up Ann, who immediately started crying in relief.  
It was a room full of mixed emotions.  
Over the next few hours there would be more tears, especially when the rest of the gang came to visit and both Chris and Andy burst into tears of relief upon seeing Leslie happy and awake. It was a room full of love, that would continue well into the coming weeks as Leslie left hospital and slowly returned to work.

Ben and Leslie were fine, as always. They talked about it for a long time, when Ron and Ann both went home to get some sleep. But when they came back, later, and Leslie was resting, Ben told them that Leslie had said to him: "You are the most wonderful person. How could you ever let me down after everything we've been through? Ben, if you blame yourself, I'm going to be so irritated and I won't let you share my hospital waffles."  
"I knew she didn't think you let her down!" Ann said to him, smiling. Ben shrugged.  
"It was me thinking that. I have a feeling I'm going to have to take some time to think about this, I mean she's been in the hospital twice in the past few months."  
"She doesn't blame you," Ron said sternly. "How could you have changed what occurred? No offense, son, but Tammy could probably tackle you to the ground."  
Ben let out a soft sigh. Things were okay, but it was times like this that he appreciate what he had. That's what Leslie had said to him, and he stood by it. They loved each other, and they would do anything for each other, and that's what mattered. It was clear Leslie would go above and beyond for any of them.

Tammy would reappear in the future, a few times. And each time, Ron would seethe with rage- there was no desire there anymore. But the best part about that was that Leslie didn’t even bat an eyelid. It still took time for her to recover regarding small spaces, and she still had the occasional nightmare, but her recovery was a clear upward slope.  
Ron knew that Leslie was okay- where they were right now, physically, it would take some time, but he knew now that she was going to be alright in the long run. And how could she not be?  
She was Leslie Knope.

  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading this fic, I've had loads of lovely comments! If anybody has a prompt for me, just let me know! <3

**Author's Note:**

> any fic ideas just let me know, I'm really churning them out atm haha


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